Frederik vom Scheidt | Searcharxiv

arXiv2025

The impact of heatwave-driven air conditioning adoption on electricity demand: A spatio-temporal case study for Germany

Intensifying heatwaves driven by climate change are accelerating the adoption of mobile air conditioning (AC) systems. A rapid mass adoption of such AC systems could create additional stress on electricity grids and the power system. This study presents a novel method to estimate the electricity demand from AC systems both at the system level and at high temporal and spatial granularity. We apply the method to a near-future heatwave scenario in Germany in which household AC adoption increases from the current 19% to 35% during a heatwave similar to the one of July 2025. We analyze the effects for 196,428 grid cells of one square kilometer across Germany, by combining weather data, census data, socio-demographic assumptions, mobility patterns, and temperature-dependent AC activation functions. We find that electricity demand of newly purchased mobile AC systems could increase the peak load by over 12.9 GW, with urban hot-spots reaching 5.2 MW per square kilometer. The temporal pattern creates a pronounced afternoon peak that coincides with lower photovoltaic generation, potentially exacerbating power system stability challenges. Our findings underscore the urgency for proactive energy system planning to manage emerging demand peaks.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2021

Integrating Hydrogen in Single-Price Electricity Systems: The Effects of Spatial Economic Signals

Hydrogen can contribute substantially to the reduction of carbon emissions in industry and transportation. However, the production of hydrogen through electrolysis creates interdependencies between hydrogen supply chains and electricity systems. Therefore, as governments worldwide are planning considerable financial subsidies and new regulation to promote hydrogen infrastructure investments in the next years, energy policy research is needed to guide such policies with holistic analyses. In this study, we link a electrolytic hydrogen supply chain model with an electricity system dispatch model, for a cross-sectoral case study of Germany in 2030. We find that hydrogen infrastructure investments and their effects on the electricity system are strongly influenced by electricity prices. Given current uniform prices, hydrogen production increases congestion costs in the electricity grid by 17%. In contrast, passing spatially resolved electricity price signals leads to electrolyzers being placed at low-cost grid nodes and further away from consumption centers. This causes lower end-use costs for hydrogen. Moreover, congestion management costs decrease substantially, by up to 20% compared to the benchmark case without hydrogen. These savings could be transferred into according subsidies for hydrogen production. Thus, our study demonstrates the benefits of differentiating economic signals for hydrogen production based on spatial criteria.

econ.GN↗